Couponing - Nampa,ID

I truly believe if you need the product and get a good coupon you get a good break. BUT don't go with a cheaper product. Especially for laundry. You'll have to rewash your clothes because they'll still smell dirty and look dingy. Using a good quality detergent is important. I bought Sun one time and washed the same load of clothes 3 times. The last time I poured about 2 cups of detergent in the washer. They smelled better that time but I tossed the Sun and went back to Gain that day.

Have you seen those homes on the shows? They are packed with useless stuff that family has no need of. They buy so much stuff and will never use it. I'd rather spend my money on things I need and use coupons for those items if I have them.

You have stack discounts. So, you mostly ignore the .25 coupon, and instead look for the good deals. Product sales run in cycles, where the discount is large. So you stock up. Coupons use to be better. So you'd get the 1.5 newspaper coupon, a 1.5 store coupon, and then a big sale at the store, discounting the item 50-90%. Target does this with buy 2 and get. Gift card, on top of coupons.

I'll be honest. I use to coupon a lot. I've mostly stopped. I would save money. But it was a real job, and my time is worth more than the savings.

I still know when certain things are super discounted, and I do stock up. So, Morningstar veggie burgers are cheap right now. Body lotion will be super cheap in the next month, and now is the time to buy cold medicine. Feb is freezer month, etc.

Basically, the coupon is a sign that sales will be taking place, so if you buy when things are discounted, you will save. Super couponers stack deals and buy in bulk. For instance, I got tons of body deodorant for near free a few years ago. I still have a 2-3 year stash. I got tons of free body lotion a few years ago, I'm not out yet. I got bags of target brand veggies for .15 a bag two years ago. I bought enough to last 1.5 years. So you basically have to look for the really good deals, and the shop like crazy stocking up.

I decided its not worth my time. I still shop sales, but I'm not going to waste two afternoons buying veggies. I have other things to do, and my time is worth something to me.

I don't get it either. I don't need 50 tubes of toothpaste or whatever. It's not saving if you didn't need to spend the money in the first place.

I shop at Aldi. I LOVE it and rarely shop anywhere else. We budget $90 per week for food for a family of 4 with a dog and two cats and have NO problem meeting that. $50 per week for all non-foods (which are usually purchased at Walmart or on Amazon.com).

there are a number of couponing sites, which identify coupons, and match them to weekly store deals. i.e. moneysavingmom.com passionatepennypincher.com livingrichwithcoupons.com

the 25c coupon would always help you save 25c.

But the way these coupon mavens do it is to max out the coupon. i.e. they wait to use the coupon on a day when tide is buy one get one free and discounted to $5, and on a day when coupons are doubled, and on a day when if you buy $10 worth of laundry products your store gives you $2.50 worth of store credit.

so you buy 4 tides. initial price $10 as they are 2 for $5.

then you use 4 25c coupons, but these double to 50c each, so it is less $2
you are now out of pocket only $8.

then, as your store was runing a store credit when you purchased a face value of $10 worth of laundry products, they credit your $2.50. so you are actually only out of pocket $5.50 $8-$2.50.

you ended up paying only $1.37 per bottle of tide. as compared with the 9.89 regular price, and 8.99 sale price.

Might be worthwhile starting small and trying say $5 or $10 worth of coupon deals as put forth by these sites.

we only do it for those things which we might otherwise use, and are a true cost savings. never more than a handful at a time, because frankly we don't have the space for it.

the reason that you see couponers purchasing vast numbers of sometimes unusable items is because sometimes, coupons or a combination of coupons ends up being a money maker. i.e. the combined discount and store credit makes the product, not only free, but worth cash or credit back.

If I could earn 50c per toothbrush, and I had coupons for 50 toothbrushes, I might grab the lot. I would have "earned" $25.00 which I can then use for anything in that shop. I can donate the toothbrushes to say a shelter, and claim a donation for the face value of the toothbrushes. Win win.

this stuff takes time, planning, attention to detail, but absolutely can be done.

best to you and yours,
F. B.

Go slow, slow, slow. Just cut coupons from the Sunday papers. Only cut the ones for products you would use. Read the weekly circular from the grocery store and CVS/Walgreens or local pharmacy that you already shop at. Start to compare prices from week to week. Often items are advertised as on sale or special, but they can be more expensive than the store's lowest price (usually once a month or season). Make a list. If products you use are truly on sale at one of those two stores and you also have a coupon for the product, that's savings. I do stock up on basics, going with the sale of the season. I do not overstock or worry about things deteriorating.

For me, the most significant savings are on the specials at CVS (Kleenex, toilet tissue, vitamins, lotion, makeup, hair products, nasal decongestant, dishwasher tablets, dishwashing liquid, Tide, peanuts!) and my grocery store (gas savings coupons, crackers, spaghetti sauce, half and half, cheddar cheese and cereal). I just cannot justify spending more than 50 % for any of these, when they are on sale so often.

For example, today at CVS, I bought 2 Cold and Sinus (reg. about $8) for .50 each. They were on sale for $4.99 and I used a $3 coupon, then received a $3 CVS bucks coupon for a future purchase. This works for me because I only shop at this and my grocery store, so I know I will use that $3 very soon at CVS. I try to keep things uncomplicated and not time-consuming. All my best.

I used to use Tide but now I use the cheaper brands like All, Gain, etc. I like to shop at Bottom Dollar, sorta like Aldi but they have more brand names. I save so much there and the sales are amazing! So with them, I look in the circular every week (they only have a few things on sale each week since everything is cheaper than regular grocery stores anyway. If there is something I use that is a great deal, I'm at the store getting it and if I am lucky I can match it up with a coupon. Remember, the stories you hear about some of these extreme couponers, they aren't doing regular grocery shopping. Sometimes they are only buying maybe 5-10 different things but in mass bulk. Who has time to go and find all those coupons (even if you buy multiple newspapers to get coupons, you are still spending plenty of money to do it). Check your grocery circulars every week and see what is on sale and what items you can match up with coupons. As long as it's not perishable, start your stockpile. Give yourself enough of an item to hold you over until that item goes on sale again. I just stocked up on Tropicana orange juice because we go through alot of it. It was on sale for $1.99, limit 4. So I went and bought 4 on the first day of the sale and bought 4 more today. It's a really great deal and some other grocery stores have that size on sale for $2.50, so $1.99 is a big savings. Takes a while to get the hang of it. You don't need to do extreme couponing, you just need to learn how to match sale items with coupons so you get the best deal. A site you can go to for info is: http://thekrazycouponlady.com